They Say Oslove for Oslob

Played a stranger to a place I was familiar with a few years ago! :-D Hahaha Before the place got famous for the whale shark watching, I was already a regular visitor, but it's only this time after quite some time that I got to visit the place again with a little twist---being a tourist! ;-) It was unplanned. :-D We were supposed to cross islands from Cebu to Negros Oriental to Siquijor, but one of our friends was not allowed by her mom (at the age of 25 :-P) to go as far as the Island of Fire, Siquijor, due to a possible tropical storm, which would have hit Manila (located north and we are at the southern part). How ironic? Hahaha Anyway, no storm ever arrived! 

Due to that cancelled trip, we thought about which place to visit somewhere south of Cebu. And since some of them have not experienced the world famous whale watching yet, we decided to head to Oslob for an overnight stay. The whale watching was supposed to be the highlight of the trip, but did not even happen. :-D You'll know later! Personally, I didn't care anymore wherever we'd go so long as the place has a nice view and we can have fun. I was so just desperate to take photos because I was running out of things to post on Instagram. But I think I got what I wanted in this trip. Hence, I have warning for you guys---photo vomit will happen next! :-D

This is me cycling around their boulevard, which is located across the church and next to the unfinished Spanish colonial structure built during the 1800's (Cuartel) and the town's museum. 

Now, let's talk about the place where we stayed in. Honestly, I was pretty surprised and amazed. For so many years that I've visited Oslob, I didn't realize a location like this existed. It was probably just a house before and was converted to an inn when the number of tourists doubled or tripled in the past few years. I must say we have the whale sharks to credit for that mainly. :-D I got to talk to one of the caretakers and she mentioned the owner of the house resides in Holland, but since they are not always in the Philippines, they opened the house to backpackers. As you can see from this photo, the interior is very European. You will be welcomed by its grand ceiling decorated with, I think, three or four chandeliers. It was honestly cozy. 

The place has Wifi too so communicating with friends and loved ones from home is easy and they offer free distilled water and coffee for guests. There's a pool and gazebo at the back with a nice sea view as well, seen in the photo below. It's in the gazebo where we had our lunch, dinner, and breakfast. Too bad for my friends though as they hate the heat and the sun so much. But me? It was paradise. There were seven of us and we stayed in one room with A/C and our own toilet and bath, which was really big. The accommodation was, indeed, a treat for our pockets. We got the place for Php 2,000.00 only then we added an additional Php 200.00 plus for the staff to cook our meals. We just did the grocery shopping ourselves. The place is called Germaroze Guesthouse/ Backpacker's Inn. This is the number I got from their Facebook page---09324997300 or you can email them at Germaroze.

Everything you can see in this photo is a witness to the pool party we had in the evening. But before that, we made friends first with the other guests of the inn and the inn next to our place, which is also as gorgeous. I couldn't forget the two Matt's from Montreal, Canada, whom we invited to join us for dinner and breakfast (where the pool party we never planned started). :-D If only the pool could talk! Hahaha Indeed, it was a great night to remember. Later that night, our Brazilian acquaintances from the other inn also joined us and they reminded me so much of our penchant for Telenovelas back in the 1990's, which they were quite familiar with as well. I was too drunk (excuse me hahaha) that I just couldn't stop myself from talking and talking until I got knocked out in my bed. :-D Until next time 'friends.'

After checking in, we just cooled ourselves down for a bit and headed to the town central for some lunch and grocery shopping at the local market. We wanted everything grilled for dinner so we had grilled pork, chicken, and fish with ripe mangoes and bananas for an additional tropical feel. We specifically requested that our dinner be prepared in a Boodle Fight kind of way. :-D When our tummies were full enough, we walked down to the Church of Immaculate Conception which was built during the 1800's too. 

You've just seen the photos of 'the ruins' above, which is nestled close to the church entrance. I don't think 'the ruins' would be an appropriate description of the place though as the structure didn't finish completion at all during the 1800's. It's called Cuartel and was meant to be the barracks of the Spanish soldiers. A few years ago, I already had my share of 'photo shoots' in this spot, but I thought of doing it one more time after honing my skills in photography if I really do have that. Hahaha :-D

This park didn't exist until probably three or four years ago. It was one of the projects of the former governor of Cebu province, Gwendolyn Garcia. The only ancient structure from this spot is the watchtower and maybe some trees. This is where locals would usually spend the afternoon for some relaxation while enjoying the sea breeze and the view of the sea and the nearby islands. We were or should say I was lucky enough that the sun was so up when we toured the place.

Simply an Instagram-worthy photo. Hahaha ;-)

Baluarte or the watchtower! This was built during the later part of the 1700's and provided a safe place wherein guards can observe the surrounding area especially from Moro attacks during that time. It was thought to be really effective making the place peaceful ever since. 

View of the mountains from the original town plaza, just in front of the municipal hall.

Sunset view from our hotel.

Sunrise photo. I still had hangover for both the drinks and pool party moments the night before and I only slept like three hours, but I had to pull myself up from my bed because I know I shouldn't miss the sunrise. It was worth it. The view was just spectacular. 

The original plan was to join three of our friends to go whale shark watching after breakfast and drive ourselves to Tumalog waterfalls afterwards. But, you know, the former didn't materialize. Maybe you know the reason why. Hahaha Almost all of us didn't have enough sleep so we lacked time and so we decided to just let go of the whale shark activity. Lucky for me because I've experienced that tourist must-do and must-see activity before it even became so commercialized. 

It was the waterfalls though that I wasn't able to try before so our group decided to just go there before we check out from the hotel. We gave ourselves an hour to enjoy the place. But I must say the photos of the waterfalls above are so not enough to describe the spectacle I experienced there. It's just fantastic and gorgeous. 

When we were on our way back to the highway, I couldn't help, but ask our motorcycle driver to stop so I could see this breathtaking view of the sea vis-a-vis the mountains, the sky, and the clouds. 

Spotted this view while on the motorcycle going back to the highway. I took a snapshot to add more colors to the wonderful day we had. 

You can see Sumilon island from this photo, another prime tourist destination in Oslob, which I happen to visit with some friends a few years ago. 

Sumilon island serving as backdrop to the Talisay trees lining the roadside on our way back to our hotel. The staff in the hotel helped us arrange our transportation needs during our stay. We took a tricycle drive, the seven of us, from the hotel to the place where we need to take a motorcycle ride going up to the mountain. Motorcycles can take two passengers each. And when we were up there, we needed to take another motorcycle, this time, individually, to get to the waterfalls. For everything, we paid Php 200.00 per head. Not bad for three rides, right?

Our contribution per person was Php 1,500.00, which included everything already---bus fare from the city, hotel, food, entrance fees, and transportation within Oslob. Since we didn't push through with the whale shark watching (three of our friends), we were able to save Php 600.00 and spent the money for Halo-Halo in the city. :-D All I wanted in this trip is to take photos for my Instragram (for my blog) and to spend time with friends, but I guess, I got more than I needed. I met new friends. I learned a lot of things from them. I got to share what I know and experienced to them. I got to know my friends more. And definitely, I have great memories to carry with me in the next years to come. Playing the stranger did the trick! 

"Smile at strangers and you just might change a life!"---Steve Maraboli (Or your life in that case)

XoXo,

Red Eye ;-)